Applied Physics Seminar: "Increasing Electrocatalytic Activity and Selectivity of Molecular Systems for Small Molecule Transformations"

he discovery of new catalytic systems for small molecule transformations such as selective CO2 reduction to value added products and efficient O2 reduction to water is crucial for the development of solar fuels technology. However, significant challenges remain in this field. In particular, traditional heterogeneous solid-state materials often operate with high activity but with poor selectivity, leading to multiple reduction products. Molecular systems operate with relatively high selectivity, but have lower overall activity due to their lower activity per geometric area. In our lab, we are developing new methods to increase the overall activity of molecular catalyst systems while maintaining their high selectivity compared to heterogeneous analogues. In particular, we are exploring two different methods: 1) the encapsulation of molecular catalysts within coordinating polymers to increase their activity and selectivity through outer coordination sphere effects and 2) the development of a new layer-by-layer growth strategy to develop 3-D multilayer films of discrete molecular catalysts. I will highlight some of our studies of these systems for CO2 reduction and O2 reduction.